I know you can't teach legally in Taiwan without a degree but I received an email from a school saying a degree was not required as I could take Mandarin classes. What's the deal with this situation? How much of a hassel is it to work illegally in Taiwan. Most importantly, what are the consequences if I were to get caught!

I imagine there's alot of running around regarding visa's? Would I have an easier time finding work (illegally) once I'm there or should I secure a job before hand?

jason seeburn, there is no such thing as a three-month tourist visa. There are only 30-day and 60-day visa and if you go to HK you are unlikely to get anything more than 30-days.

Also while enrolling in Chinese classes enables you to extend your visa it doesn't entitle you to work legally. So while it may prevent you from breaking the visa laws it still means you are working illegally.

You can teach in Taiwan legally or illegally without a degree. Many people do it, some have a degree and some don't. The same is true with people who have a work permit and ARC. This is Taiwan where nothing is done legitimately.
Foreign teachers are not treated as professionals because no professionals are treated well in Taiwan. One of the biggest reasons real professionals leave Taiwan. It's called the brain drain.
Working illegally may be the only way for anyone to do a good job, make some decent money and have what little job security their is to be had in Taiwan.
Illegal teachers are paid better and have more rights and options than legal teachers do. They also do the job just as well, often better because they do not have to put up with the excessive demands placed on teachers by those employers who control their residency and employment rights.
I would recommend trying it both ways and see which one suits you better. If you run into trouble contact SSETT
taiwanteacher2002@yahoo.com

I think this thread is an excellent example of what Taiwan is really like. What is said and what is done are often entirely different.
Learning Chinese while teaching English has been the one of the most lucrative and secure ways of teaching in Taiwan for about 20 years. It has always been illegal and forbidden by the government. Back in the 80ís and early 90ís, Taiwan National University had the corner on the market as far as teaching the Chinese language. The world recognized Tai Da University as the highest educational authority in matters pertaining to Gwo Yue, or the national language of China. To maintain this status it was necessary to have a large number of international students coming to Taiwan to learn Chinese. The fact is students of Chinese are not rich and Chinese was not in demand, so there simply was not a lot of money involved. The local authorities in Taipei simply ignored the large number of illegal teachers and made it very easy to obtain visa extensions for learning Chinese. As a matter of fact the government of Taiwan paid foreign students with the right credentials to study Chinese in Taiwan. As the KMT and the old guard slowly began losing control of the strings of power, there was a gradual shift in policy. The government stopped paying foreign students and eventually gave up its status as the Chinese language capital of the world.
This brings us back to studying Chinese and teaching English. Recently in Taiwan the Chinese language business has been in decline. There are two main reasons for this, the first being the lack of generous support formerly given by the government, the other being that it has become much easier for English teachers to get work permits in most places. As a direct result the local government in Taichung has made it very easy for students of Chinese to teach English. The conflicting reports are coming from the national government in Taipei and the local government in Taichung and possibly other places. The reason that the a local government can nullify a national governments policy in itís jurisdiction has a lot to do with local politics. Taichung has a large amount of autonomy for several reasons.
There are now a large number of students in Taichung teaching English with the unspoken consent of the government. The down side is that it is really hard to find work that pays anything. I went down there last year to have a look and visit friends, and can tell you first hand, Taichung is overrun with English teaching students of Chinese.

I will be the first to tell you that there is a lot of work in Taichung county and many other more remote locations down south, however only Taichung city is offering amnesty to illegal teachers. I donít think there are too many other places in Taiwan that can so blatantly disregard the national governments laws and regulations. The only foreign affairs police precinct, offering amnesty to otherwise illegal teachers is Taichung city. Itís a good deal if you can find work. You will find it very difficult to get a tax return.